[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 69 (Friday, April 10, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19313-19315]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-08230]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP15-90-000]


Texas Eastern Transmission, LP; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Gulf Markets Expansion 
Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) that will 
discuss the environmental impacts of the Gulf Markets Expansion Project 
(Project) involving construction and operation of facilities by Texas 
Eastern Transmission, LP (Texas Eastern) in Lavaca County, Texas; St. 
Landry, Pointe Coupee, and Beauregard Parishes, Louisiana; Scioto, 
Ohio; Bath County, Kentucky; Giles County, Tennessee; and Monroe and 
Franklin Counties, Mississippi. The Commission will use this EA in its 
decision-making process to determine whether the project is in the 
public convenience and necessity.
    This notice announces the opening of the scoping process the 
Commission will use to gather input from the public and interested 
agencies on the Project. Your input will help the Commission staff 
determine what issues they need to evaluate in the EA. Please note that 
the scoping period will close on May 4, 2015.
    This notice is being sent to the Commission's current environmental 
mailing list for this Project. State and local government 
representatives should notify their constituents of this proposed 
Project and encourage them to comment on their areas of concern.
    If you are a landowner receiving this notice, a pipeline company 
representative may contact you about the acquisition of an easement to 
construct, operate, and maintain the proposed facilities. The company 
would seek to negotiate a mutually acceptable agreement. However, if 
the Commission approves the Project, that approval conveys with it the 
right of eminent domain. Therefore, if easement negotiations fail to 
produce an agreement, the pipeline company could initiate condemnation 
proceedings where compensation would be determined in accordance with 
state law.
    Texas Eastern provided landowners with a fact sheet prepared by the 
FERC entitled ``An Interstate Natural Gas Facility On My Land? What do 
I Need to Know?'' This fact sheet addresses a number of typically-asked 
questions, including the use of eminent domain and how to participate 
in the Commission's proceedings. It is also available for viewing on 
the FERC Web site (www.ferc.gov).

Summary of the Proposed Project

    The purpose of the Project would be to provide 650,000 dekatherms 
per day (Dth/d) of natural gas to the Gulf Coast region of Louisiana 
and Texas from the natural gas basins in the Northeast and Texas. The 
Project would consist of the following facility modifications:
     At the Wheelersburg Compressor Station in Scioto County, 
Ohio to allow for bi-directional compression on six, existing 2,500 
horsepower (HP) compressor units;
     at the Owingsville Compressor Station in Bath County, 
Kentucky to allow for bi-directional compression;
     at the Mt. Pleasant Compressor Station in Giles County, 
Tennessee to allow for support of bi-directional compression;
     at the Egypt Compressor Station in Monroe County, 
Mississippi to allow for support of bi-directional compression;
     at the existing launchers and receivers at milepost (MP) 
231.16, south of the Union Church Compressor Station in Franklin 
County, Mississippi to allow for bi-directional in-line inspection;
     at the Gillis County Compressor Station in Beauregard 
Parish, Louisiana to allow for bi-directional compression;
     at the existing Opelousas Compressor Station in Saint 
Landry Parish, Louisiana, to allow for bi-directional compression, and 
installation of an additional 12,500 HP electric-driven compressor 
unit;
     at two existing metering and regulating (M&R) locations at 
Lottie and New Roads Township in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana (M&R 
71287 and M&R 71424) additions of gas chromatographs; and
     at the new Provident City Compressor Station in Lavaca 
County, Texas, installation of a new 5,280 HP compressor unit.
    The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 
1.\1\
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    \1\ The appendices referenced in this notice will not appear in 
the Federal Register. Copies of appendices were sent to all those 
receiving this notice in the mail and are available at www.ferc.gov 
using the link called ``eLibrary'' or from the Commission's Public 
Reference Room, 888 First Street NE., Washington, DC 20426, or call 
(202) 502-8371. For instructions on connecting to eLibrary, refer to 
the last page of this notice.

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[[Page 19314]]

Land Requirements for Construction

    The total land requirement for construction and operation of the 
Project is about 50 acres, of which 21 acres would be permanently 
affected by the facilities operation.

The EA Process

    The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires the 
Commission to take into account the environmental impacts that could 
result from an action whenever it considers the issuance of a 
Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity. The NEPA also requires 
us \2\ to discover and address concerns the public may have about 
proposals. This process is referred to as ``scoping.'' The main goal of 
the scoping process is to focus the analysis in the EA on the important 
environmental issues. By this notice, the Commission requests public 
comments on the scope of the issues to address in the EA. We will 
consider all filed comments during the preparation of the EA.
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    \2\ ``We'', ``us'', and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff 
of the Commission's Office of Energy Projects.
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    In the EA we will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of 
the construction and operation of the proposed Project under these 
general headings:
     geology and soils;
     land use;
     water bodies, fisheries, and wetlands;
     cultural resources;
     vegetation and wildlife;
     air quality and noise;
     endangered and threatened species; and
     public safety.
    We will also evaluate reasonable alternatives to the proposed 
Project or portions of the Project, and make recommendations on how to 
lessen or avoid impacts on the various resource areas.
    The EA will present our independent analysis of the issues. The EA 
will be available in the public record through eLibrary. Depending on 
the comments received during the scoping process, we may also publish 
and distribute the EA to the public for an allotted comment period. We 
will consider all comments on the EA before making our recommendations 
to the Commission. To ensure your comments are considered, please 
carefully follow the instructions in the Public Participation section 
of this notice.
    With this notice, we are asking agencies with jurisdiction and/or 
special expertise with respect to environmental issues to formally 
cooperate with us in the preparation of the EA.\3\ Agencies that would 
like to request cooperating agency status should follow the 
instructions for filing comments provided under the Public 
Participation section of this notice.
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    \3\ The Council on Environmental Quality regulations addressing 
cooperating agency responsibilities are at Title 40, Code of Federal 
Regulations, Part 1501.6.
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Consultations Under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation 
Act

    In accordance with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's 
implementing regulations for section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act, we are using this notice to initiate consultation 
with applicable State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPO), and to 
solicit their views and those of other government agencies, interested 
Native American tribes, and the public on the Project's potential 
effects on historic properties.\4\ We will define the Project-specific 
Area of Potential Effects (APE) in consultation with the SHPOs as the 
Project develops. On natural gas projects, the APE at a minimum 
encompasses all areas subject to ground disturbance (examples include 
construction right-of-way, contractor/pipe storage yards, compressor 
stations, and access roads). Our EA for this Project will document our 
findings on the impacts on historic properties and summarize the status 
on consultations under section 106.
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    \4\ The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's regulations 
are at Title 36, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 800. Historic 
properties are defined in those regulations as any prehistoric or 
historic district, site, building, structure, or object included in 
or eligible for inclusion in the National Register for Historic 
Places.
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Public Participation

    You can make a difference by providing us with your specific 
comments or concerns about the Project. Your comments should focus on 
the potential environmental effects, reasonable alternatives, and 
measures to avoid or lessen environmental impacts. The more specific 
your comments, the more useful they will be. To ensure that your 
comments are timely and properly recorded, please send in your comments 
so that they will be received in Washington, DC on or before May 4, 
2015.
    For your convenience, there are three methods which you can use to 
submit your comments to the Commission. In all instances please 
reference the Project docket number (CP15-90-000) with your submission. 
The Commission encourages electronic filing of comments and has expert 
eFiling staff available to assist you at (202) 502-8258 or 
[email protected].
    (1) You may file your comments electronically by using the eComment 
feature, which is located on the Commission's Web site at www.ferc.gov 
under the link to Documents and Filings. An eComment is an easy method 
for interested persons to submit brief, text-only comments on a 
project;
    (2) You may file your comments electronically by using the eFiling 
feature, which is located on the Commission's Web site at www.ferc.gov 
under the link to Documents and Filings. With eFiling you can provide 
comments in a variety of formats by attaching them as a file with your 
submission. New eFiling users must first create an account by clicking 
on ``eRegister.'' You will be asked to select the type of filing you 
are making. A comment on a particular project is considered a ``Comment 
on a Filing;'' or
    (3) You may file a paper copy of your comments by mailing them to 
the following address: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 
20426.

Environmental Mailing List

    The environmental mailing list includes federal, state, and local 
government representatives and agencies; elected officials; 
environmental groups and non-governmental organizations; interested 
Native American tribes; other interested parties; and local libraries 
and newspapers. This list also includes all affected landowners (as 
defined in the Commission's regulations) who are potential right-of-way 
grantors, whose property may be used temporarily for Project purposes, 
or who own homes within certain distances of aboveground facilities, 
and anyone who submits comments on the Project. We will update the 
environmental mailing list as the analysis proceeds to ensure that we 
send the information related to this environmental review to all 
individuals, organizations, and government entities interested in and/
or potentially affected by the proposed project.
    If the EA is published for distribution, copies will be sent to the 
environmental mailing list for public review and comment. If you would 
prefer to receive a paper copy of the document instead of the compact 
disc version or would like to remove your name from the mailing

[[Page 19315]]

list, please return the attached Information Request (appendix 2).

Becoming an Intervenor

    In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want 
to become an ``intervenor'' which is an official party to the 
Commission's proceeding. Intervenors play a more formal role in the 
process and are able to file briefs, appear at hearings, and be heard 
by the courts if they choose to appeal the Commission's final ruling. 
An intervenor formally participates in the proceeding by filing a 
request to intervene. Instructions for becoming an intervenor are 
included in the User's Guide under the ``e-filing'' link on the 
Commission's Web site.

Additional Information

    Additional information about the Project is available from the 
Commission's Office of External Affairs, at (866) 208-FERC or on the 
FERC Web site at www.ferc.gov using the ``eLibrary'' link. Click on the 
eLibrary link, click on ``General Search'' and enter the docket number, 
excluding the last three digits, in the Docket Number field (i.e., 
CP15-90). Be sure you have selected an appropriate date range. For 
assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at 
[email protected] or toll free at (866) 208-3676, or for TTY, 
contact (202) 502-8659. The eLibrary link also provides access to the 
texts of formal documents issued by the Commission, such as orders, 
notices, and rulemakings.
    In addition, the Commission now offers a free service called 
eSubscription which allows you to keep track of all formal issuances 
and submittals in specific dockets.
    This can reduce the amount of time you spend researching 
proceedings by automatically providing you with notification of these 
filings, document summaries and direct links to the documents. Go to 
http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp
    Finally, public meetings or site visits will be posted on the 
Commission's calendar located at www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along with other related information.

    Dated: April 2, 2015.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-08230 Filed 4-9-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P